The
1930s story of two lifelong friends, Idgie and Ruth, is retold
during the 1990s. The elderly Ninny Threadgoode tells their
story to Evelyn Couch. Couch becomes entranced by their story
and continues to visit Ninny Threadgoode in a nursing home so
that she may learn more. Threadgood’s stories about the two
strong-willed women inspire Couch to become more assertive in
her life. The stories focus on the early adult years of Idgie
and Ruth. Ruth befriends Idgie and tries to get her to be more
respectable. However, Idgie also manages to get Ruth to enjoy
life more. Troubles start for the two when Ruth marries.
Unfortunately, her husband’s violent temper soon leads to his
battering Ruth. Idgie manages to convince Ruth to leave him and
the two found the Whistlestop Café.
While
most of this film revolves around the two women’s friendship,
there are plenty of small moments when one gets to see
presumably mouthwatering food. Also, there are many food
scenes at the Whistle Stop Café. In the first few moments one
is treated to short clips of food laid out for a wedding meal.
However the best scenes involve Idgie trying out a recipe for
fried green tomatoes, this soon devolves into a food fight
between Idgie and Ruth which eventually results in the town
sheriff getting frosting smeared all over his face and shirt.
The barbecued ribs that are served to the detective also appear
mouthwatering until you learn their origin (yes, this charming
story of friendship among women involves cannibalism). The meals
that are prepared by Evelyn Couch are also quite appetizing; one
meal is fried chicken and mashed potatoes, and later they
consist of tofu. The food moments in this film are relatively
few but there are sufficient shots to make this a good food
film. |